Gender, by definition, is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between and from masculinity and femininity. Nowhere in that definition does it say anything about the type of genitalia you have. Gender is a social construct forced on to people by society attempting to make everyone fit into one of two categories, masculine or feminine. Unfortunately, American society has decided that to be masculine means to be a boy and to be feminine means to be a girl. However, that’s not what it means all over the world. It some countries, the women are seen as more masculine, building homes and finding food, the bread winners if you will, while the men take care of the children and stay at home, taking the feminine traits for themselves.

Gender is the idea of certain characteristics belonging to a specific genitalia. Feminine with vaginas and masculine with penises. Who decided that? I understand that there is biology involved with men being taller, having a higher center of gravity, and having less body fat making it easier to gain muscle mass. However, women can be strong too. Most of the ideas surrounding what it means to be a man and what it means to be a women are created by what society wants and expects from us.

Society has told us that men can’t cry, can’t be scared, can’t be vulnerable because those emotions are deems weak, feminine, meant for women and women only. They say that men can be angry and scary even, but it doesn’t matter because they’re showing how strong and tough they are. They’re allowed to be scary because it’s what is expected of them. Women, however, are expected to be soft-spoken, weak, submissive, kind, and every other word you could think of that could also describe a daffodil. Women aren’t allowed to be angry, to be tough, to be strong because if we are, we’re called bitches or rude. We’re told we don’t smile enough, that we’re too rough and need to lighten up. Men would never be told to lighten up.

Gender is an idea, a box, that society wants to put us into so all the jobs that are required to keep a society going are dealt with. Women take care of the children, cook, clean, while men work with other men, bringing home the money and continuing the manly man’s world. What would happen if we stopped? Stopped being what is expected and turned society on it’s head? Do you think society would end? Or would it become something worth fighting for?

Transgender people are simply that: people. They are the same as me and you, just with unique circumstances. Don’t you think that all people should be treated equally? That all people deserve the same rights and privileges as others? Isn’t America the land of the free and the home of the brave? What kind of world do we live in where people are being murdered every other day for being different, for being transgender?

That is not a world I want to live in, and not a country I want to be associated with the way things are right now. I never understood the importance of transgender issues and transgender abuse until recently, when these issues began to impact me personally.

Transgender people are just people. Photo from Caitlyn Jenner.

You can never really understand what it’s like to be affected by transgender issues until it relates to you personally. You could go on all day about how you’d vote over and over again for equal rights for all, but you never understand the true impact and importance of it all unless you are affected directly.

On Friday, October 30th, my little brother came out to me as transgender. I was shocked, to say the least; however, I had some idea that something was bothering him for sometime and somehow, I just knew. From my dance costumes he loved to wear when we was three to him growing out his hair since last

year, there have been subtle signs for as long as I can remember.

My first thought when he told me was “What if he gets murdered for being his true self?” “What if he gets hurt or bullied or something awful because he can’t hide his true self anymore?”

I was scared for him. He’s my baby brother and I need to protect him, but in this situation, I can’t control the actions of the world around me and it’s one of the most frustrating and scary feelings I have ever experienced.

I shouldn’t have to have these thoughts. I shouldn’t have to be scared for my brother’s life because of what the world and society has done to transgender people. He needs to become the person he is meant to be and I nor my family are going to let the world stop him from being happy.

Being transgender in America is dangerous, but it shouldn’t be. We, as the people of the United States, should stand up against the crimes being committed against transgender people and bring the country together as one.

We should all be equal under the constitution and no person should walk the streets of America afraid for being who they are.

We live in a society where being different is frowned upon. Expressing who you truly want to be is unacceptable and can make you an outcast within friends, family, and professional environments.

People can be judged on every small detail starting from how you carry yourself to how you dress. Clothing companies strive on stereotypes created by a society built on fitting into a certain category, making it that much harder to tear down the walls and expand out of what is expected of us.

Don’t you wish we could define ourselves however we want to? Can you imagine a world where we are allowed to wear whatever we wanted to without being judged or ridiculed for not dressing how the world wants us to? The first place we need to start is retail stores.

“There are “girl” sections and “boy” sections that are separated in halves. If you are a girl, you shop in the “girl” section and vice versa. If you even think about heading to the other side of the store, eyes follow your every move, confusion and judgment covering their faces.”

Clothing stores are the definition of stereotypes. There are “girl” sections and “boy” sections that are separated in halves. If you are a girl, you shop in the “girl” section and vice versa. If you even think about heading to the other side of the store, eyes follow your every move, confusion and judgment covering their faces. It’s not their fault, really. Society has constructed those people into thinking that gender comes in only black or white, boy or girl, masculine or feminine, but that simply isn’t true.

People should be defined as just that, people. Some identify as a boy or as a girl, but some people don’t. It isn’t fair to expect someone to fit into a specific definition when it’s way more complicated than that.

I’m a girl who likes to wear “girly” clothing but I also love to wear “boy” clothing. When I head over to the “boy” section of a store, I want to feel comfortable and like I belong there, not as if I am confused or out of place. Clothing companies owe it to us to give us the opportunity to be our authentic selves, not to be forced to be the person we think we should be.

Designers need to catch up to the 21st century and start designing clothes that are gender neutral. I’ve been dying to see clothes that have always been made for boys being made for girls. Start creating masculine clothing that fits my small frame. One of the most frustrating experiences is finding a shirt or a pair of pants in the “boy’s” section that I love but having it be way too big for me.

If designers starting making “boy’s” clothes fit girls, it would allow for the inclusion of all genders as well as let everyone wear the clothes they want to and to feel comfortable in those clothes.

Of course, I know that beginning to make clothes gender neutral doesn’t create the end all of gender stereotypes nor the feeling of not fitting in; however, I believe we have to start somewhere and allowing for those who don’t fit into society’s ideal of gender were to be able to express themselves appropriately through clothes, it would be a good start.

Fall Out Boy has finally emerged from their self-imposed exile with as much of their classic fire and trademark witty lyricism as they had when they drifted behind the curtains of the music industry. It’s been five years since the release of their last album, Folie à Deux, and while their sound has changed since we last heard from them, Save Rock and Roll is still classic Fall Out Boy with a pop-infused twist. The hiatus is finally over, and in my opinion, it has certainly been worth the wait. Continue reading Fall Out Boy rocks once more as they “Save Rock and Roll”→

Black Coffee

Black Coffee is a joint media project created and produced by Whim and Radford on Camera. Black Coffee takes the talents of Radford’s musically gifted and provides them with an outlet to play for the community by means of student-run, student-produced media.